Stop Five- Niece JoJo

  I'm now seven days, seven states (MI, IN, IL, IA, MO, OK, TX) and five friends/relatives into this adventure. Amazing. Most of the day was spent in the car, but tonight I arrived at the home of Jo-Anne (Jo-Jo), who is my half niece.

My father is her grandfather. This is the last time we saw each other. We think it was 1963, but there are some things about that date that don't work with this picture. Anyway, from left to right around the table are Jo-Anne, Ricky, my half-brother John, Marie (standing- and who knows how she got permission to visit me on a holiday), my mom and dad (who is grandfather to John's children), Ethel, and part of Susanne.

Ricky has passed, but as a result of finding his obituary I found the girls. All the parents are gone too. Jo-Anne and I barely knew each other, but it was like instant bonding when we saw each other today. We have talked and talked and shared some pictures with more to come. I'll be here a few days. These people are no longer frozen in time.



There will be lots more to share as the week goes on, so I am going to spend the rest of today's blog showing you one more thing that is important to cousin Jean. She gave me a tour this morning. She is trained in end-of-life care, and was in at the beginning of creating this facility named Solace House of the Ozarks.

It's in Joplin, Missouri, but is available to anyone who is referred through hospice. The service is available free of charge because of grants and donations. It is for people who are at the end of life, whose families for whatever reason can not keep them at home but who don't need full hospital care. They have only two rooms. Each room has a guest (patient) bed and a regular bed for a family member or whoever is staying with them. Night staff is paid, but daytime care is all done by volunteers, Jean included. They've had an average of about 50 guests a year since they began in June of 2020, but Jean said the word is getting around and use is increasing.

The entire environment is meant to be friendly and more residential than institutional. The building is actually a house. It is modeled on Clare House in Tulsa, OK.

Jean has been knitting prayer shawls for a number of years, and now some of hers go to Solace House. These are shawls that the knitter prays over as they are being made, so that they are, in a sense, pre-blessed when they go to their owner.

Meanwhile, back in Texas, I suddenly have a grand nephew and neice, and a great-grand nephew. You'll meet them all yet this week. And are JoJo and I happy? You'll have to decide.

We have so many family gaps to fill in. The only word I can think of is "amazing."

See Fun with Jean